The continued delay of the burial of Iran’s deceased dictator comes as a strategist suggested “fear” is in control of the regime that devolved into “a mafia.”
Over the weekend, President Donald Trump announced the U.S. would begin blockading the Strait of Hormuz, while Vice President J.D. Vance conveyed that 21-hours of negotiation had failed to result in a deal with Iran. Now, another delay in holding a state funeral for the current supreme leader’s dead father and predecessor suggests fear and disorder in the controlling ranks of Iran.
Speaking with Fox News Digital, Dr. Ramesh Sepherrad, a vice president at Navy Federal Credit Union and member of the board of advisors for the Organization of Iranian American Communities (OIAC), addressed how Mojtaba Khaemenei had once again postponed the funeral for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was eliminated at the commencement of Operation Epic Fury.
“Forty-four days have passed, and the regime does not have the confidence to publicly bury Mojtaba’s dead father,” she said, as the norm is burial within 24 hours. “That is an indicator of the fear within this regime from top to bottom.”
Describing the son as a “conduit” to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Sepherrad contended, “Mojtaba is less the supreme leader in the traditional sense and more the coordinator of a security-led system.”
“This regime does not communicate with one unified voice. It communicates by function,” she went on. “One channel negotiates, another threatens, another punishes, and another tries to maintain ideological continuity. It is now a mafia.”
“The key point is not harmony but division of labor. What holds them together is regime survival, not trust,” asserted the strategist. “What we are seeing now is deeper: a leader who lacks organic authority and therefore governs through the institution that controls force.”
As she pointed out, those who’ve survived the strikes of Operation Epic Fury, which began at the end of February, after weeks of protest, found the regime killing its own citizens, “are not primarily diplomats.”
Of Khamenei, Reuters reported that the new supreme leader was left “disfigured” from the strike that eliminated his father and has been recovering from injuries to his leg and face. The outlet made the point of noting how sources said to be from his inner circle also describe the regime head as “mentally sharp” and “engaged in decision-making on major issues, including the war and negotiations with Washington.”
In addressing the current state of talks in Pakistan with the Middle Eastern regime, Vice President J.D. Vance stated, “We’ve had a number of substantive discussions with the Iranians. That’s the good news. The bad news is that we have not reached an agreement — and I think that’s bad news for Iran much more than it’s bad news for the United States of America.”
He went on to express, “The simple fact is that we need to see an affirmative commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon, and they will not seek the tools that would enable them to quickly achieve a nuclear weapon.”
.@VP: “The simple fact is that we need to see an affirmative commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon, and they will not seek the tools that would enable them to quickly achieve a nuclear weapon.” https://t.co/A6Wl97qbAV pic.twitter.com/DNEL4JSlj2
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 12, 2026
While Iranian state news agency Nour reported plans remained unannounced for further negotiations, Sepherrad said the current supreme leader, “Mojtaba may be less rhetorical, less publicly ideological, and more operational because his primary focus is survival of the regime.”
“While the regime negotiates to buy time, reduce pressure on its forces, and prevent broader escalation, internally, it is likely to intensify arrests, executions, intimidation, and internet controls now,” she argued. “The regime fears internal unrest more than diplomacy.”
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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